LOCAL THEORY OF DISORDERED SYSTEMS.
Abstract
The most striking characteristic of crystalline solids is their periodicity. As a result of this feature, theoretical descriptions of physical phenomena in such systems are usually given in wave number of momentum space. The reciprocal lattice of a crystal and the Fermi surface of a metal are examples. In a disordered system, on the other hand, there is no such periodicity and momentum space descriptions are much less natural. However, in such systems, physical conditions near a point r, in coordinate space, become independent of the conditions at a distant point r', provided that (the absolute value of (r' -r) is large compared to either a characteristic mean free path or some other appropriate length. This suggests that one can analyze a macroscopic disordered system by averaging over the properties of microscopic neighborhoods. The present paper reports some details of such a program which has focused especially on the electronic density of states.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 10, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0697007
Entities
People
- Walter Kohn
- William H. Butler
Organizations
- University of California, San Diego